Simone Biles has returned to the world’s biggest stage with renewed vigor after her last stint at the Tokyo Olympics. As she prepared to dazzle the crowd with her stellar performances at the Bay Arena, Rebeca Andrade was on her trial. Biles may be the best gymnast of her generation, but the Brazilian is not too far behind. And this was evident at the women’s gymnastics qualifiers on July 28. Even though the 27-year-old had a sore calf, she showcased her impeccable form on the floor exercises, scoring a solid 14.60.

But now, it was Andrade’s time to shine. Her floor routine secured a 13.90, putting her through to the finals right under Biles. Out of the qualifiers, the G.O.A.T. has an all-around score of 59.56. However, Andrade’s total of 57.70 has done nothing but solidify the 25-year-old as a formidable opponent.

Even though the qualification will not include medals, one mistake can cause a ripple effect leading to not contending in the final events on Tuesday. The stage was set for the women’s gymnastics subdivision 2 at the Bercy Arena. The favorite’s for the team gold, Team USA contested at the event, with Simone Biles vying for a spot in the individual apparatus finals and the all-around women’s gymnastics final. The 27-year-old executed one of her best routines on the balance, and her impressive score of 14.73 secured her a spot in the finals.

With a taped up ankle, she then made her way to the floor routine, her most difficult one so far. But as expected, her flawless performance achieved a score of 14.60. And with that, she had secured yet another final to look forward to. She then hopped towards the next apparatus: vault. Her near perfect execution of the Biles II secured the highest score in the event, 15.80. She is now the first woman to land this difficult move at the Summer Games. This would be counted to her all-around score. She then attempted a Cheng for her second vault, racking up a 14.80.

Biles’ pristine routine on the uneven bars achieved a 14.43. However, this wasn’t enough to put her through to the apparatus’ finals. At the qualifying, the 27-year-old racked up a staggering 59.56 which pushed her through to the individual all-around finals. By the end of the subdivision 2 events, Team USA found themselves on the top of the table with 172.29. Quite impressive isn’t it? But how did Rebeca Andrade fare on Sunday?

Simone Biles’ rival Rebeca Andrade is slowly catching up

Even though the most decorated gymnast continues to be the favorite in the all-around event, Rebeca Andrade is looking forward to move past being considered the second best gymnast at the French capital. The reigning Olympic all-around silver medalist has previously suffered from three gruesome ACL tears. While this resulted in her withdrawing from major competitions in the past, the gymnast seemed a lot more confident this time around.

Team Brazil competed in subdivision 5 on Sunday. Instead of sticking to her already incredible routines, the 25-year-old kicked it up a notch. She introduced an upgraded variation of her skills across the vault (14.68), beam (14.50), uneven bars (14.40), floor (13.90) and the all-around event (57.70). This put her directly behind the most decorated gymnast. Andrade had made it to the finals, and will lock horns with Biles in the vault, floor, team, all-around, and balance beam events.

This is the moment Rebeca Andrade has been looking forward to the most. “I think it’s going to be so cool, for real!” While the two have nothing but love for each other off the mat, the gymnast will be focusing on putting her best foot forward on Tuesday. The last time the two faced off against each other was at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium. The Brazilian’s score of 14.75 helped clinch the vault title while Biles settled for second place with 14.549.  As the friends prepare for a rousing battle in the finals, who do you think will emerge victorious in this tantalizing rivalry?